Global economic conditions survey report: Q1, 2014

The Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS),
carried out jointly by ACCA and IMA, is the largest
regular economic survey of accountants in the world,
in terms of both the number of respondents and the
range of economic variables it monitors. Its main
indices are good predictors of GDP growth in the
OECD countries and daily trend deviations correlate
well with the VIX or ‘fear’ index, which measures
expected stock price volatility.

This is the 21st edition of the survey, and the 10th since ACCA and IMA first joined forces to conduct this research. Using the combined data since 2009, it is now possible to discuss year-on-year trends for five consecutive years.

Fieldwork for the Q1 2014 GECS took place between 27 February and 22 March 2014, which included the escalation of the events in Crimea as well as the early days of the search for flight MH370. The survey attracted 1,772 responses from ACCA and IMA members around the world; 700 of those were senior finance professionals, including 171 CFOs.

As always, ACCA and IMA are deeply grateful to all members who gave up their time to respond to the survey. Finance professionals have front-row seats to the recovery, and it is their first-hand accounts of business conditions on the ground that make the GECS a trusted barometer for the global economy.